Easy Homemade Turkey Stock

posted on November 16, 2015

Easy Homemade Turkey Stock takes only a few ingredients, about 1 1/2 hours of time, and will take your soups, sauces, and gravies to a delicious new level!

Are you almost ready for Thanksgiving? I’ve got my turkey ordered, and since I’m going to make my Perfect Spatchcock Turkey recipe, I asked Whole Foods to spatchcock it for me this time around so it’ll be that much easier for me. It’s all about saving a little time right? 🙂

I did my turkey early 2 weeks ago primarily because:

(1) I wanted to spatchcock my turkey, so I needed to do a trial run as I’d never cooked a turkey that way before

(2) I wanted to make turkey stock ahead of time to freeze so I’d have nice, homemade stock for the best gravy ever

(3) I wanted to practice making gravy again (bourbon gravy!), because it always gives me a little anxiety. Is it just me?

The results of #2 are right before your eyes — clear, beautiful turkey stock!

When I was in cooking school, we made stock every single week like clock work because we went through so much of it. There was no store-bought stock anywhere in that place for a reason — homemade is worlds apart from store-bought. The gelatin from the bones gives it a silky mouthfeel that translates over to your sauces, soups, and gravies. And the flavor is just unbeatable!

If you’ve made homemade stock before, you know this is true, but if you’re like me, you just don’t get around to making it enough. When I have extra time or it’s a special occasion, I will make stock, and Thanksgiving is about as good a time to do it as any.

The truth is, stock is really easy to make, and besides turkey parts, takes a few simple ingredients:

The onion, carrot, and celery are the building blocks to any stock having great flavor, then we have parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns to use in our bouquet garni, which you can make out of cheesecloth, or my favorite — using the dark green top of a leek.

You can make your own stock with any variety of turkey parts…or chicken for that matter. Here, I just used the turkey parts I had on hand, which was the backbone (since it was butterflied), the neck, and heart. This batch made about 4 cups, which was plenty for me. All you need to remember is that it doesn’t matter how many turkey parts you have, you just need the aromatics and bouquet garni, and to cover everything with water about 2″ over.

The most important thing is not to let your stock come to a boil! If the stock boils, any fat that’s in it will distribute throughout the stock and make it cloudy in appearance. If you just cook it at a nice simmer, the fat or scum rises to the top and you can skim it off with a fine mesh skimmer. Super easy. 🙂

And one more thing…you can also make stock from the turkey carcass after cooking for that turkey noodle soup that everyone loves, too. I love to pop the carcass in a zip-top bag and refrigerate or freeze it until I’m ready to make soup. Turkey noodle soup with homemade stock is the.best.soup.ever, too.

If you haven’t made Easy Homemade Turkey Stock for your gravy yet, there’s still time! Buy some wings, legs, or whatever you can get your hands on and whip some up.

You’ll be so, SO glad you did. 🙂

**I will be away from my computer this week, and will respond to any questions or comments when I return. Thank you for your patience!

Place the turkey parts and aromatics into a large stock pot and fill with water until it covers the mixture by about 2". Set aside.

Place the sprigs of thyme and parsley, bay leaf, and peppercorns on the cheesecloth or leek top, and tie together with a piece of kitchen twine. Place in the stock pot with the turkey pot and aromatics, and place on the stove top.

Heat the stock at medium heat until it just starts to come to boil. Do not let it boil as the fat or scum will distribute throughout your stock, making it cloudy. Simply simmer at about medium low, skimming the scum using a fine mesh skimmer occasionally until the stock is done, or about 1½ hours.

Cool completely and store in the refrigerator or freezer in an airtight container.

Notes

*For this recipe, I used one backbone, one neck, and the turkey heart from my Perfect Spatchcock Turkey. You can use a lot more turkey parts to make more stock, just use the aromatics and bouquet garni as listed and cover by 2" with water. Don't throw away that carcass from your cooked turkey! Place it in a zip-top bag and refrigerate it or freeze it for stock/soup making.This recipe is also perfect for chicken stock!Recipe by Flavor the Moments.

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37 comments on “Easy Homemade Turkey Stock”

I’ve never even thought to make my own turkey stock before, so I’m loving this! I had no idea it was this easy, either. And I’m sure this tastes way better than the store bought kind. Such a great idea, Marcie!

My dad always used to make his own stock the day of Thanksgiving for the gravy so I decided to keep tradition. Making it ahead is the best way for me, however as that’s one less thing to worry about on T-day! Thanks, Gayle. ?

I’m right there with ya in stock-land, Marcie! haha. I’ve only been in culinary school 3 months and already I’ve made homemade stock more times than I could count! I actually just made a big batch yesterday at home with leftover turkey bones– so amazing. I am definitely going to have to give your version a try– I haven’t tried the herb bouquet garni technique yet!

I’ve only made my own stock once (actually, I have to admit, my hubby made it!) but it was SO SO good! I love the idea of making it with your turkey parts!! Great idea!! I never cook my own turkey since we never host the holidays but I’ll definitely keep this in mind for when I finally do!

I grew up watching my dad make his own stock every Thanksgiving for the most perfect gravy. I kept the tradition, but I like making mine ahead of time so I don’t have to worry about one more thing! Thanks, Jess, and have a happy Thanksgiving! 🙂

We usually skip the turkey on Thanksgiving but this reminds me of something my husband said he used to have every year called turkey water soup, haha! I think it was just turkey stock that they are on it’s own but they made that name up to be funny. 🙂

That looks so simple and I’m sure it’s so good when made at home. I’ve made only vegetable stock and nothing else, I need to try making chicken stock like this. It must be an exciting time for you, thanksgiving is just around the corner. I absolutely love the festive feeling. Enjoy dear. xx

You’re right, Marcie! Homemade is definitely worlds apart from buying in store. I hope I have time to try my hand at this for the upcoming holiday. Thanks so much for sharing! It was hard to find a great explanation with awesome photos to compensate.

Before school the only time I would make my own stock was Thanksgiving, because that’s what my dad did every year. haha I need to do it more because it makes everything taste better. Thanks, Ashley, and hope you’re having fun prepping for the Big Day! 🙂

Your stock looks perfect, Marcie! So clear and full of nutrients. We usually make turkey stock with the leftover carcass but that’s such a great idea to use it for gravy. Love your photos and tutorial, so helpful! 🙂

Dear Marcie, what a wonderful idea to make a practice run of it before the big day. Always a good idea in my opinion and who can turn down the idea of having a Thanksgiving meal twice? Your stock is perfect for so many other recipes and I especially love the sound of that gravy. Wishing you and your family a beautiful Thanksgiving holiday. xoxo, Catherine